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# Protobyte Phylogeny Lets Visitors Evolve Artificial Life
- URL: https://www.killscreen.com/protobyte-phylogeny-lets-visitors-evolve-artificial-life/
- Published: 2026-10-21T21:42:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T21:42:59.000Z
- Description: Ira Greenberg's installation is part of Scaling Intelligence, Gray Area's free show of 11 new AI commissions in San Francisco.
- Author: Kill Screen Staff
- Tags: News, Gray Area, San Francisco, artificial intelligence, Generative Art, Installation, exhibitions, Ira Greenberg, Events, #radar-item, #events, United States

Event details

When

Opens Wed., Oct. 28, 2026, 7 to 10 p.m. On view through Sun., Nov. 1

Where

Gray Area, Mission District, San Francisco

Cost

Free

[Exhibition details](https://grayarea.org/exhibitions/scaling-intelligence-modal-commissions/?ref=killscreen.com)

*Scaling Intelligence*, an exhibition of 11 new commissions by 13 artists and collectives, opens at Gray Area in San Francisco on Wednesday, October 28, 7 to 10 PM, and runs through Sunday, November 1\. [Admission is free](https://grayarea.org/exhibitions/scaling-intelligence-modal-commissions/?ref=killscreen.com). Among the works is Ira Greenberg's *Protobyte Phylogeny*, in which visitors take a specimen of one of Greenberg's protobytes, speculative digital lifeforms, and steer its evolution. The population running at the close of the show will be partly descended from visitors' choices. [Gray Area's announcement](https://www.instagram.com/p/DesftWtiHi2/?ref=killscreen.com) invites visitors to become part of the ecosystem.

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**Protobyte Phylogeny: protoworld*, a 60-second render Ira Greenberg posted in September. [Watch it on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/1231167881?ref=killscreen.com).

The show pairs Modal, a cloud compute company, with Gray Area's art and technology program. Artists received cash stipends, materials and cloud credits. The lineup includes Parag Mital, Kristina Pulejkova, Spencer Chang and [Cezar Mocan](https://www.killscreen.com/tag/cezar-mocan/), and the exhibition positions itself against the idea that AI inference means automation and slop.

*Protobyte Phylogeny* uses aesthetic selection, the method behind Richard Dawkins' 1986 biomorphs and most creature-raising games since. Killscreen covered [Gray Area's Latvian bog performance](https://www.killscreen.com/latvian-bogs-became-a-live-instrument-at-gray-area/) in August.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/2026/10/protobyte-phylogeny-frame-5s.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/2026/10/protobyte-phylogeny-frame-55s.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/2026/10/scaling-intelligence-key-art.jpg)

Stills from **protoworld*, and the key art for Scaling Intelligence. Images: Ira Greenberg; Modal x Gray Area.

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